Winemaker Notes
Aromas of spiced raspberries and ripe Hood strawberries gently fold into warm vanilla oak. Rainier cherry and cocoa provide a savory sweetness and weight on the palate leading to a lengthy finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Vibrant and generous, with lilting raspberry and tart cherry flavors highlighted by green tea, forest floor and sandalwood tones as this gathers tension and structure toward refined tannins.
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James Suckling
Crushed cherries, raspberries and dried cranberries here, together with savory herbs, dried flowers and wet stones. Medium-bodied, chalky and polished with delicious cherries and hints of red spices. Crunchy and vibrant finish. Drink now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley unwinds slowly in the glass to reveal black cherries, violet, Earl Grey tea leaves and turned earth. The medium-bodied palate features powerful, concentrated, dark fruit. It has a chalky frame, bright acidity and a long, spicy finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley pours a dark but transparent hue and is ripe and forward with blackberry fruit, turned earth, and purple flowers. Medium-bodied, with ripe fruit and a modest finish.
Home of some of the planet’s most amazingly elegant and expressive Pinot noir, the Willamette Valley is a pastoral, mixed landscape of green, bucolic rolling hills, dramatic forestlands and small, independent, friendly wine growers. As a leader in environmental stewardship, the valley has some of the nation’s most protective land use policies, with two-thirds of its vineyards farmed sustainably and over half, organically. While the valley claims a cool, continental climate, and is heavily influenced by the cold, moist winds of the Pacific Ocean, its warm and dry summers allow for the steady, even ripening of Pinot noir.
The potential of Willamette Valley Pinot noir continues to attract the investment of serious growers and winemakers both locally and from abroad, as naturally the finished wines bring accolades from professionals and enthusiasts. With a range of styles from delicate dried cherry, raspberry and hibiscus to stronger notes of truffle, mocha, plum and spice, a fine Willamette Valley Pinot noir is a perfect expression of both character and grace.